Machine and method for putting wheels in balance



July 7, 1942. wfaxannloN ETAL MACHINE AND METHOD Fon NUTTING WHEELS 1N BALANCE 19 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Dec. 30, 1937 ATTORNEYS July 7, 1942. w. B. EDDlsoN Erm.

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE 19 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q Iwan/5m Original Filed Dec. 30, 1937 July 7, 1942. w. B. EDDvlsoN Erm. L 2,288,590

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE riginal Filed Den. so, 1937 19 sheets-sheet s -Invenzlarsamm 1510em1/'s Theodore '/fe//y un 5 t Dixon Gr/'SWOM l Mar/'0n H. McAdam' BY @waa/r4 ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1942. w. B. EnnlsoN ETAL.

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WIEELS IN BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 4 william Bcufon AEdd JohnK/VISA am BjDefm/s Theodore he/l Maf/0n H McAc/am Invenors. zson. ma,

Vul@ anmn. BY dr A Dixon B. Gr/lswo/d l ATroRNEYS July 7, 1942.

w. B. EDDlsoN Erm. 2,288,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 30. 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 5 N- fmfenfoni'- ATTORNEYS MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING* WHEELS IN BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 50, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 6 i' Denn/S Theodore /fe/l u'a mam Dixon B. 6/7'5 wo/d Mar/'0n H. McAdam ATTORNEYS W. B. EDDISON EI'AL July 7,1942.

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE kOriginal Filed Dec. 30, 1937 ATTORNEY:

July 7, 1942.

w. B. EDDlsoN Erm. 2,288,690 MACHINE AND METHOD FOR, PUTTING WHEEL-:S INVBALNCE Original Filed Dec. 50, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 8 IT] Venforfwilliam Barron sadism.

John V. ,dammwfmub Q 50e/rms The are /fe//y Dixon Gr/.sn/o/d am/tm. A Mar/0n h! McAdam BY 07404, WL

ATTORNEYS 'l lrl//V////\ July 7,1942- we.. EDDISQN Em 2,288,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 50, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 9 Th1/enfers:-

Willim Bcwon Edolisoh. Bw J9?? M'CM' erm/s e are e ixon. Griswold )IVM Mmm.

Mar/'on HMcAdam ATTORNEY 5 July 7, 1942 w. B. EDDlsoN Erm.A 2,288,690* MACHINE AND METHOD-FOR PUTTING WHEELS I-N BALANCE v origial Filed nec. :5o. 1937 19 sheets-sheet 1o v By @fraz/.d 9-

ATTORNEYS MACHINE AND METHOD FDR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE w. B. EDDlsoN TAL 2,238,690

original Filed Dec. so, 1937l 19 sheets-sheet I11 WLZLLal-mcwfon Eddson. John VM'fAdafm Mar/'0n H. McAdam 5r @www ATroRNEYs l Imi/anfora:-

July 7, i942. w. B. EDDlsoN ETAL 2,288,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN `BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1937 '134 Sheets-Sheet l2 John 'l/.M-dam Mammal.

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Denn/'s meodore fe D/)ron Gris wo/d w Mar/bn H. McAdam BY @Za-GW* 4 Bef ATTORNEY 5 July 7, w42 w. B. EDDlsQN Er-AL, 2,288,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELSIN BALANCE original Filed Dec. so, 1937 19 sheets-sheet 1s 'IIII AT TORNEYS July 7 1942 w. B. EDDlsoN E-r-AL 2,238,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN'BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 14 Mar/'0n H M cAnam ATTORNEYS July 7, 1942. w. B. EDDlsoN E-r AL '2,283,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original Filed Deo. 3VO, 1937 19 Sheets-Sheet 15 om; Gf/'swa/d ma www.

Mar/'0n H 7c/Minga?a BY :m e ATrofrNEYs inve Mars:-

July 7, 1942. w.B. EDDlsoN ETAL 2,238,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original yFiled Dec. 30, 1957 19 Sheets--Sheei'l 16 w35# lnvenorss William Bavton Eolclison.

2 ATTORNEYS July 7, 1942. w. B. EDDlsoN ET Al.

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original Filedl Dec. 30, 1937 19 SheelZS-Shee'tl 17 l f 25 '4Z Z 43 ByDenn/S Theodore Mnr/'onHMcAda/W BY @a/aw 4" m ATTORNEYS July 7 1942. w. B. r-:DDlsoN E-rAx. 2,238,690

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING wHEELs IN BALANCE Original Filed Dec. 30, 1957 19 Sheets-Sheet 18 ATTORNEYS July 7, 1942.. w. B. EDDISON ET A1. 2,288,690 N MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE Original 'Filef Dec. 30, 1937 19 Shets-Sheet 19 ATTRNEYS Patented July 7, 1942 STATES M'ACHNE AND METHOD FOR PUTTING WHEELS IN BALANCE William Barton Eddiscn, Ardsley on Hudson, N. Y., and John V. McAdam, deceased, late of Ardsley on Hudson, N. Y., by Dennis Theodore Kelly,

Dixon B. Griswold, amd Marion H.

McAdam, executors, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y.; said executors assignors to said Eddison Application December 30, 1937, Serial No. 182,634 Renewed November 17, 1939 (Cl. S30-11) 47 Claims.

This invention relates to machines and methods for the balancing of work pieces about an intended axis of rotation or oscillation thereof, and particularly for the balance wheels of time pieces, such as clocks.

A purpose of the invention is to provide a machine for balancing of work pieces in such manner that it is not necessary to measure or determine the amount of initial unbalance of the work pieces.

A further purpose is to provide a machine for balancing which will effect the result wih a minimum of skill and attention on the part of the operator.

A further purpose is to provide a machine for balancing which effects the result substantially automatically or semi-automatically whereby, for example, to eiect .balance correction of work pieces one after another as long as the parts are supplied to the receiving end of the machine.

A further purpose is to provide improved balancing methods, particularly in a manner adapted for effecting one or more of the purposes previously mentioned.

Further purposes are generally to simplify and improve the method of balancing and to simplify and improve the construction and operation of machines for balancing, and still other purposes will be apparent in the light of this disclosure.

The machine herein illustrated and described is for balancing a clock balance wheel and, for convenience, many of the terms used in the description of the work pieces and machine, and of the balancing methods used in the machine are specifically or particularly applicable to clock wheels and their manufacture. It is to be understood, however, that where the invention of the structures or methods disclosed is applicable to the balancing of other work pieces and terms used are to be given correspondingly broad significance, both in the disclosure and in the claims.

The term balancing as used in this specification covers the idea of bringing the wheel into static balance, this often being referred to in the clock industry as the process of poising In this specification, however, for clarity the word poising is used only to cover the idea of permitting the wheel to rotate about its axis to permit its center of gravity to seek or assume a static condition in which the center of gravity is directly beneath the axis of rotation. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to poising as just dened, since it may be practiced, in some of its aspects, by use of other well known methods for determining the angular position of the unbalance in a work piece as, for example, by dynamically determining the position while the work piece is rotating.

In the original making of a balance wheel, even for cheap time pieces, such as alarm clocks, the wheel forming mechanism can .be depended upon, if reasonable care is exercised, to produce wheels which are in balance within reasonably close limits. It is a purpose of the present invention to provide a method and means for economically and dependably reducing the amount of possible final error to within 4a known, small fraction of the determined limit of error of original manufacture.

To this end in the machine here shown each wheel is subjected to repeated poising and repeated milling or cutting operations, the material cut away being taken from a marginal portion of the heavy side of the wheel and being desirably equal in amount to one half of the original limit of error. After this rst cutting operation, the wheel cannot be out of true by an amount greater than one half of the original limit of error. The Wheel is then again poised and similarly cut to remove one half as much material as was removed at the original cutting operation. This second cutting operation brings the error to within one quarter of the original limit of error. The operation may be repeated as many times as desired, each cutting operation being elective to cut in half the assured limit of error.

In the illustrative embodiment four cuts are made. Since the marginal area available for cutting is limited, and since more than one cut may occur in the same sector of the wheel, the possibility of overlapping the cuts is avoided by utilizing two distinct annular cutting zones at each side of the Wheel.

In the illustrative embodiment, where four cuts are made, the wheel may be regarded as originally out of balance by any amount from zero to sixteen units. The rst cut takes away eight units from the heavy side so that the wheel becomes out of balance no-t more than eight units. The second cut takes away four units from whatever side is now the heavy side so `that the wheel is out of balance not more than four units. The third cut similarly takes away two units so that the wheel is not out of balance more than two units, and the fourth cut takes away one unit so that the wheel is not out of balance more than one unit. The result of this principle of cutting is that any Wheel which enters the cutting process out of balance by exactly an odd 

